Queen scallop
Aequipecten opercularis
ORDER
Pterioida
FAMILY
Pectinidae
TAXONOMY
Aequipecten opercularis (Linnaeus, 1758), Mediterranean Sea. Numerous named color forms and varieties.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Vanneau.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Shell is round in outline and compressed, with subequal anterior and posterior auricles (ears) strongly delimited, gaping below each auricle, with about 20 finely sculptured radial ribs. Shell color is highly variable; may be white, red, orange, mottled or solid, with the right valve lighter in color than the left. Interior is white, with grooves reflecting external ribs. May grow as large as 3 in (80 mm) in diameter. Soft body with single central adductor muscle; mantle margin equipped with numerous sensory tentacles and eyes.
DISTRIBUTION
Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic coast from Norway to the Cape Verde Islands, the Azores and the North Sea. Under experimental aquaculture in Spain, France, and United Kingdom.
HABITAT
Epibenthic on all substrates except rocky bottoms. Found in depths from the intertidal zone to 1,312 ft (400 m); most common at about 130 ft (40 m).
BEHAVIOR
Actively swims in response to threat by clapping shell valves together, forcing water to exit mantle cavity in a manner resembling jet propulsion.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Simultaneous hermaphrodite, broadcast spawner.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by the IUCN, and not protected except by local fishery regulations. Fished extensively until 1970s, when populations declined and queen scallops became less important in the commercial market.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Human food source (adductor muscle or whole). The queen scallop symbol was originally worn on heraldic insignia to signify that the wearer had made a pilgrimage to the Christian shrine of St. James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The symbol later identified its bearer or ancestor as a Crusader or other type of pilgrim.
